Asia Cup 2018: India declares a 16-man squad without Virat Kohli

Ahead of the Asia Cup 2018, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named a 16-man squad in Mumbai on Saturday. This squad will be led by Rohit Sharma because India’s regular skipper Virat Kohli has been given rest after a straining England tour. MSK Prasad, BCCI chief selector, has taken this decision considering the workload of the player. The decision will help the board to preserve some of its valuable players. Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan will be seen playing the role of vice-captain. 

Khaleel Ahmed is the only uncapped player in this squad. The 20-year-old left-arm medium pacer caught the attention of the national team selectors with his performance in the Under-19 World Cup in 2016 taking 12 wickets in three innings, including 3 for 29 against Sri Lanka in the final of the Tri-Nation Under-19 tournament in Colombo.

Ambati Rayudu makes his comeback in the team after two years as the 32-year-old middle-order batsman played his last international match in June 2016. He has replaced Suresh Raina who was also replaced by the same player in the recently concluded England series.

The defending champions, India, will start their Asia Cup campaign with the match against Hong Kong on September 18 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.

India squad for Asia Cup 2018: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan (VC) , KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed.

Source- https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/rohit-sharma-to-lead-indian-squad-for-asia-cup-118090100379_1.html

Asia Cup 2018: Afghanistan picks up three new players in the 17-man squad

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2018 that will start from September 15 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Three new players- Sayed Sherzad, Munir Ahmad and Wafadar Momand- were called in the squad. Of them, Sherzad and Wafadar had the opportunity to put on the national team jersey in Twenty20I and Test cricket respectively. On the other hand, Munir Ahmad is yet to make debut in any format of the game. 

The reason behind taking both Sherzad and Wafadar was to bolster the pace attack. Wafadar, the 18-year-old fast bowler, impressed with his performance in Afghanistan’s maiden Test match against India earlier this year. The 23-year-old left-arm pacer, Sherzad, has so far played three T20Is.

The main strength of the Afghanistan cricket team is their spin trio- Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. No doubt, they will play a vital role on the tricky Asian tracks.

Veteran cricketer Dawlat Zadran failed to make his place in the squad. He was a member of the squad that won the ODI series 2-1 in Ireland recently. Despite being experienced player, he could not make it to the playing XI in any of the three ODIs on the tour.

Afghanistan will face Sri Lanka in their first match in Asia Cup campaign on September 17.

Squad: Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmat Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shinwari, Munir Ahmad Kakar (wk), Sayed Ahmad Sherzad, Sharafudin Ashraf, Wafadar.

Sabbir Rahman might face six-month international cricket ban

Sabbir Rahman, the bad boy of Bangladesh cricket, has once again got media coverage for indiscipline rather than his performance on the field. The 26-year-old hard-hitting batsman is likely to face a big punishment for his recent troubles. After a hearing with the player at the BCB office in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, the BCB disciplinary committee has suggested the board a six-month ban for the cricketer from international cricket.

If the proposal is approved by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan then Sabbir Rahman will be suspended from international cricket till February next year. As a result, he cannot play in the home series against Zimbabwe and West Indies, and the New Zealand series in February and March. Because of his recent troubles, he could not make his place in the Bangladesh ODI team announced for the Asia Cup 2018.

It is not the first time he is facing such kind of punishment. Earlier in January this year he was fined Tk 2 million and banned from domestic cricket for six months after he was found guilty of beating up a fan during a first-class game. For this reason, his central contract was also stripped off. However, the disciplinary committee has warned him of being careful in future and if any more complaints come against him, the authority might hand him long-term ban.

It is also heard that Sabbir allegedly got involved in a fighting with Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the dressing room during the T20I series against Afghanistan in Dehradun, India in April. He even took to social media to abuse his supporters who mocked him after his poor performance in the second ODI against the West Indies, though the player denied this claim saying that his Facebook account was hacked.

Apart from Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain was also called for hearing on the same day. The 22-year-old middle-order batsman was accused of driving his wife out of home demanding Tk 1 million in dowry. He, however, said to the media that he divorced her recently. The board also warned Mosaddek of being careful in the future but did not take any disciplinary action against him as his case is being dealt with at the court.

From promising cricketer, Sabbir Rahman has turned himself as a problem child for the board in the recent and distant past. It looks like stardom has led him to the destruction. Getting huge and sudden publicity, he has forgotten his past. BCB officials should handle this issue strictly before it gets deteriorated.